Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1887-10-19
God untitled for the ordeal, and what are
uo doinn9

l
, In oroer to reach the multitude of out
siders we must drop all technicalities out o
our religion. When we talk to people abou
the hypostatic union and French Encyclo
pedianism, and Erastinianism, and Com
plutensianism, we are as impolitic and lit
tie understood as if a physician should tall
to an ordinary patient about the pericar
dunn, End intercestal muscle, and scorbutit
symptoms Many of us come ont of the
Theological seminaries so loaded up that we
take the first ten years to show our people
how much we know, and the next ten years
1 to get our people to know as much as we
know, and at the end find that neither oi
us know anything as we ought to know. =
Here are hundreds and thousands of sin
ming, struggling, and dying people who
need to realize just one thing-that Jesus
Christ came to save them, and will save
them now. But we go into a profound and
elaborate definition of what justification is,
and after all the work there are not, outside
of the learned professions, five thousand
people in the Uuited States who can tell
| what justification is. I will read you the
definition
Classification is purely forensic act, the
act of judge sitting in the forum, in which
the Supreme Ruler and Judge, who is ac-
countable no none, and who alone knows
| the manner in which the ends of His uni
versal government can best be obtained,
reckons that which as done by the substi-
tute in the same manner as if it had been
done by those who believe in the substi-
tute, and not on account of anything done
by them, but purely upon account of this
gracious method of reckoning, grants them
the full remission of their SINS"
1 Now, what is justifcation9 l will tell
you what justification is-when sinner be-
lieves, God let's him of. One summer in
Connecticut went to large factory, and
l saw over the door written the words,
mo admittance." I entered and saw over
the next door. "No admittance." Of course
| entered got inside and found it a pin
factory, and they were making pins. very
serviceable, fine and useful pins. So the
spirit of exclusiveness has practically writ
ten over the outside door of many church,
| mo admittance." And if the stranger
enters he finds practically written over the
second door, ''No admittance," and if he
goes in, over all the pew doors seems writ
| ter, mo admittance," while the minister
stands in the pulpit, hammering out his
little niceties of belief, pounding out the
| tecnnicali'ies of religion, making pins. In
| the most practical, common-sense way, and
| laying aside the non-essentials and the hard
definitions of religion, go out on the God
| given mission, telling the people what they
need and when and how they can get it.
Comparatively little effort as yet has been
made to save that large class of persons in
| our midst called skeptics, and he who goes
! to work here will not be building upon an
other mans foundation. There is great
multitude of them. They are afraid of MS
and our churches, for the reason we don't
know how to treat them. One of this class
met Christ, and hear with what tenderness,
and pathos. and beauty, and success Christ
dealt with him 'sThou shalt love the Lord
thy God with all thy heart, and with all
thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with
all thy strength. This is the first COM
mandment, and the second is like to this
namely, thnn shalt love thy neighbor as
thyself. There is no other commandment
greater Than this" And the scribe said to
him "Well, master, thou hast said the
truth, for there is one God, and to love Him
with all the heart, and all the understand
ing, and all the soul and all the strength is
more than whole burnt offerings and sacri-
fices." And when Jesus saw that he an
swered discreetly, he said unto him
Thou art not far from the Kingdom of
God" So skeptic was saved in one inter-
view. But few Christian people treat the
skeptic in that way. Instead of taking
hold of bin with the gentle hand Of love,
we are apt to take him with the iron pincers
of ecclesiasticism.
You would not be so rough on that man
if you knew by what process he had lost
his faith in Christianity. l have known
men skeptical from the fact that they grew
up in houses where religion was overdone.
Sunday was the most awful day Of the week.
They had religion driven into them with q
trip hammer. They were surfeited with
prayer meetings. They were stuffed and
choked with catechisms. They were often
told they were the worst boys the parents
ever knew, because they liked to ride down
hill better than read Bunyan's Pilgrims
Progress. Whenever father and mother
talked of religion they drew down the cor
ners Of their mouth and rolled up their eyes.
If any one thing will send boy or girl to
perdition sooner than another that is it. If
had had such a father and mother | fear
should have been an infidel.
Others were tripped up of skepticism
from being grievously wronged by some
man who professed to be Christian. They
had partner in business who turned out
to be a first-class scoundrel, though pro-
fessed Christian. Twenty years ago they
lost all faith by what happened in an oil
company which was formed amid the
petroleum excitement The company
owned no land. Or if they did, there was no
sign IF oil produced but the President of
the company was Presbyterian elder, and
the treasurer was an Episcopal vestrymau,
and one director was Methodist class
leader, and the other directors prominent
members of Baptist and Congregational
churches. Circulars we're gotten out tell
ing what fabulous prospects opened before
this company. Innocent men and women
whe had little money to invest, and that
little their all, said 81 cont know any
thing about this company, but so many
good men are at the head of it that it must
be excellent, and taking stock in it must be
almost as good as joining the church -
So they bought the stock, and perhaps re-
ceived one dividend so as to keep them
still, but after a while they found that the
company had re-organized, and had diff
ferent president, and different treasurer,
and different directors. Other engagements
or i'll health had caused the former officers
of the company with many regrets, to re-
sign. And all that the subscribers of that
stuck had to show for their investment was
beautifully ornamented certificate. Some
times that man, looking over his old papers,
comes across that certificate, and it is so
the.relgion that the presidents and trus-
tees and directors of that oil company pro-
fessed. OF course their rejection of religion
on such grounds was unphilosophical and
unwise. am told that one-third of the
United States Army desert every year, and
there are $4,000 couIt-martial trials every
year. Is-that anything against the United
5 ates Government that swOre them in
And if soldiers of Jesus Christ desert, is
that anything against the Christianity
which they swore to support and defend
How do you judge of the currency of a
countryP By counterfeit bill? Oh, you
must have patience with those who have
been swindled by religious pretenders.-l
Live in the presence of others frank,
honest, earnest Christian life, that they
may be attracted to the same Saviour upon
whom your hopes depend.
Remember skepticism always has some
reason, good or bad, for existing. Goethe's
irreligion started when the news came to
Germany of the earthquake at Lisbon, No
vember 1, 1775. That sixty Thousand peo-
Dle ahor1ld have Ioarishe1 in thot aartb